The HEVC Advance press release states that MediaTek “is one of the leading contributors to the creation of the HEVC/H.265 video compression standard, with one of the most significant HEVC/H.265 patent portfolios in the world.” Again, since the patents aren’t listed, it’s hard to verify these claims. For example, the MT8127 SOC is a quad-core SOC for tablets with hardware-based HEVC playback, and is deployed in Amazon’s Fire 7 tablet. The company designs systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) for multiple uses, including mobile devices. Briefly, MediaTek is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company with over $6.5 billion in revenue in 2014. When HEVC Advance formed, there were five potential members: GE, Technicolor, Dolby, Philips, and Mitsubishi Electric. Now, onto the other news in the HEVC Advance announcement. Since the Alliance codec may offer a royalty-free alternative, the HEVC IP owners have some fence-mending to do to woo potential users. While MPEG LA includes a complete list of licensors and patents, HEVC Advance says its definitive list of licensees is “coming in the near future,” and that “certain illustrative claims of the HEVC Advance essential patents can be viewed soon.” These gaps were understandable in March when the group was announced, but are inexcusable six months later.īeyond HEVC Advance, the potential for a third HEVC royalty pool is real enough to discourage many potential HEVC licensees from adapting the new technology until the group emerges and announces its terms. For example, the announcement does nothing to allay another major concern regarding HEVC Advance’s patent portfolio, specifically, that no one knows which patents it includes. Whatever the motivation, HEVC Advance rethinking royalty terms is a positive step, though not a panacea. MPEG LA has consistently denied the connection, and HEVC Advance likely would as well, but the timing argues differently. There is precedent for an open-source codec influencing the monetization policies of a standards-based codec most famously, MPEG LA declined to seek royalties on free Internet video encoded with H.264 soon after Google open sourced VP8. Briefly, the Alliance consolidated the codec development efforts of Google, Cisco, Mozilla, and Xiph, promising to deliver a royalty-free codec by early 2017. One has to wonder if the formation of the Alliance for Open Media on August 31 motivated HEVC Advance to reconsider its terms. While the press has skewered HEVC Advance for attempting to charge content royalties, Inzerillo is one of the few potential licensees to publicly share his concerns. no mainstream company is ever going to do that." If it was just another toll to pay and the toll was sort of reasonable … that wouldn't be such a big deal. Presumably it will talk with Joe Inzerillo, executive vice president and chief technology officer for MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), who recently commented on the concept of a content royalty with Fierce Cable, stating, "The notion of gross revenue is the part that's just a non-starter. asked if HEVC Advance would discuss its plans for updated pricing, but heard back that the company is “gathering feedback from stakeholders in the marketplace,” and will keep us posted. However, the most interesting and significant statement was in the final substantive sentence, a quote from CEO Pete Moller which read, “We have received significant market feedback, particularly on content fees, and will adjust fees to support widespread use of HEVC.”Īs for the exact adjustments planned, that’s all we know. According to Wikipedia, the expression ‘burying the lede” refers to the failure to mention “the most important, interesting, or attention-grabbing elements of a story in the first paragraph.” Well, HEVC Advanced definitely buried the lede in its latest press release, which was nominally about the addition of MediaTek to the HEVC Advance patent pool.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |